VARIETIES OF AMERICAN REALISM ___ e ______ Syracuse University Art GalleriesAn Informal Selection from the Syracuse University Art Collections Feb. 26 -Apri113, 1975 JOE &: EMILY LOWE ART GALLERY College of Visual & Performing Arts ~RACUSE UNIVERSITY Varieties of American Realism An Informal Selection "Realism" is one of the oldest, most roots defined as an "affinity for and from the Nickels has shown represents the artist Looking at the American Realist re­ widely used and relative terms in the loyalty to local neighborhood and a superimposing concepts of social, his­ presentation in the Syracuse University language of art. The reliance upon sim­ Syracuse University way of life within it." torical regional or political meaning on Collection, in a general way one may ilarity to nature in the description and The 20th-century American pictures Art Collections his subjects as a way of creating popular say that it comprises a rich tableu vivant analysis of art may have its explanation in the collection dealt with were unusu­ organized and presented interest in art and of guiding American of the tastes, moods, manners, interest in the physiological necessity to recog­ al in the number of works of better popular consciousness into humanitar­ and activities of the greatest epoch of nize and adapt to the outer world by the than average quality by lesser-known ian or political channels in which cultur­ cultural self-discovery in American art simply through the habitual use of artists who worked in the mainstream Joe & Emily- Lowe al loyalties are strongly mixed. Usually and life. It led, in combination with sight. In any event, Western art, of American social observation during called "Social Comment" painting, we strong influence from Europe during critics, perhaps instinctively following Art Gallery, the 1930's and 1940's. Particularly did have tentatively used the broader term, and immediately after World War II, to this habit, have applied the term Col lese of their work show interesting facets of "social realism" because social indepen­ America's generally recognized ascen­ "realist" to art forms from Greek and life of the period and in several stunning Visual & Performing Arts, dence usually involves searching for a dancy in world art. As such it is an Roman antiquity to modern times, gen­ cases uninhibited selection and innova­ factual base for cultural identity along important focal point ·of our national erally going on to point out the differ­ Syracuse University. tive treatment of their human subjects with political and humanitarian aims. In artistic and intellectual history await­ ences of quality and content that presented in unconventional activities February 26 through this grouping would be such artists as ing greatly needed curatorial study in underlie the seeming fidelity to outward and off-guard, attitudes. In the course of Shahn, Curry and Marsh. depth and filling the gaps of major miss­ appearance. Within this millennial tra­ April 13, 1975 the review several outstanding works Within the same mid-third of the ing figures in available media. Even as it came to the fore again, such as Ernes dition, which ranges through Roman Open weekdays 20th century one may i1nd in the Syra­ now stands it offers a firm starting portraiture, late Gothic stone carving, Fiene's Tambour (No. 22, illustrated), except Mondays, cuse University I Collections realist values point for further development as a focus the inspired Baroque canvases of Moses Sayer's Studies for a Portrait of ranging widely, if in no consistent pat­ for the study of the arts of the overall Caravaggio and LaTour, through the 5:30 Ben Shahn (No. 35, illustrated), Noon to PM., tern between or outside the two American world. "programmatic" realism of Courbet and Eilshemius' Nude (No. 18), Wayman Sundays, 1 to 5 P.M. cate~ories mentioned above. These vary the "spiritual" naturalism of Mexico's Adams' Not a Member of the Club from direct naturalism (as with the Red Velasco, American Realism has won a (No.1, illustrated), Coulton Waugh's Cabbage of Aaron Bohrod, No.6) to Special thanks are extended to the legitimate if not quite internationally Burlesk (No. 39), and a splendid group the humorous, sometimes sardonic fan­ following for generous contributions honored place. of town, city and shorescapes by David tasy of Philip Evergood (All in a Day's which made possible this catalogue, and Yet, considering all the relativities of Burliuk (Nos. 8 & 9)~ These joining eas­ Work, No. 19) - a comment on the the invitations and reception for the this long progression of realist styles ily with the better known Burchfield Syracuse UniversitySpanish CivilArt War), the caricatured Galleries real­ exhibition's opening: Associates of the and looking at the record from the (No.7), Curry (Nos. 16 & 17), Sloan ism, with heavy sarcasm, of Peggy College of Visual and Performing Arts, home perspective of the native Amer­ (No. 33), Shahn (No. 32, illustrated) Bacon, the symbolic realism 'of the farm Sallie Bailey, Katinka Brigham, James ican artist and student of art can we say and Evergood works (Nos. 19,20 & 21), and farm painters, represented in this Carroll, Barbara M. Collum, Mary Lid­ with precision what American realism and supplemented by solid paintings of exhibition only indirectly by the trans­ dle, Marge Mellor, Michael Recht, Karen actually is? fresh inspiration by Blanch (No.5), ference of the farm interior to the city, Slotnik. From the Syracuse University Art Bohrod (No.6), Karfiol (No. 23), in Phillip'Reismans', Jewish Fish Market I would like to express the gallery's Collections the faculty and students of Marsh (No. 25) and Poor (No. 30) - (No. 31). sincere gratefulness to the Commun­ the Graduate Museum Training Program seen either as part of a broader collect­ The decline of the school of direct ity Board of the Friends of Lowe Art have selected 43 paintings from the last ion or a representation of American social observation and its retreat before Gallery and their Chairperson, seventy years of this unbroken and Realism - combine to produce, de­ the Abstract Expressionist Movement of Mrs. Kendrick A. Sears for their con­ constantly self renewing tradition in spite the lack of certain major figures, the 1950's was followed somewhat later tributions to the public presentation American art. They were chosen from probably the second.' strongest unit by a new interest in subjective or psy­ of this exhibition and for their sup­ perhaps sixty pictures considered rela­ within the overall University Collection chological portraiture which may be in port throughout the period of its organ­ ed in some way to what has become and a painting collection of stature as a the realist tradition even though, under ization; to Dr. Alfred M. Collette, Ad­ accepted as a broadly defined American unit in itself. The "varieties" of Ameri­ the influence of existentialism and the ministrator and Mary Ann Calo, Regi­ realist category - truth to observed can realism of the period which this painting of Francis Bacon, as well as trar, of the University Art Collections fact. Nineteen works of SCUlpture were exhibition presents are as various as one Abstract Expressionism itself, it took;' for their cooperation and assistance in also considered but only one of these may find in the grass-roots sense of ex­ semi-abstract or abstracted form. preparing the extensive materials drawn was reasonably close to the definition perience defined above. Thus,Raphael Above: No. 35. Moses Soyer. Studies Nathan Oliveira's Running Figure (No. from the Collections for the exhibition; except for a major work by William and Moses Soyer, Sloan, Burliuk, for Portrait of Ben Shahn, 28) is a very good if smaller example of and to Professor Mary Takach and the Zorach, which could not be transported Vickrey, Poor, Fiene epitomize' here detail. this. graduate students in the Museum Train­ the "realist" spirit of the thirties that from its site at Utica College. With the In the sixties realism revived with in- Cover: No. 22. Ernest Fiene. Tambour, ing Program for their integral part in the aim of going beyond the generalized quietly identifies with their everyday sistent force first in the form of exact detail. organization of this second phase of the idea of American realism as simply subjects. For want of a better term, I reproduction (verisimilitude) of human Left: No.1. Wayman Adams~ Not a Syracuse University Art Collection re­ "truth to fact" and additional evalua­ would identify this as "factual" or figures and heads, isolated or in interior Member of the Club., detail. view series. tive criterion was used: "Elements of "empathic" realism. On the other hand settings, then in more stylized form but experience in the picture associated the "varieties" also comprise more gen­ with neo-photographic precision in part with persons or places that can be con­ eralized conceptions of so called typical under the influence of Pop and Op art. Stanton L. Catlin sidered an authentic reflection of the aspects of American popular life, in the The large canvas of Cottingham epito­ American 'grass-roots' spirit, with grass- country and the city, which Bradley Director of Art Galleries mIzes this phenomenon in the present and Museum Training Program exhibition. J )1 Above: No.5. Arnold Blanch. Flower Makers, detail. Right: Ben Shahn. 7943 A.D., detail. Below: No. 41. Harold Weston. Searching., detail. Syracuse University Art Galleries CATALOG 1. Wayman Adams (1883-1959). Not a Member of the Club. oil on canvas. 22. Ernest Fiene (1894-1965). Tambour. oil on canvas. 441/4 x 34 3/4 inches. 32 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches. signed lower and upper left. gift of Mrs. Wayman Adams. signed lower right. purchase from the artist. SU 64.226 SU 5902 23.